Elisa Weaves a Web

by Kristy Nolan, Member

Announcements:

• If you have recruiters calling you, please refer them to the Lone Star chapter job bank at http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/jobs_main.htm.
• In the future, when using PayPal to pay for your dinner, please bring your confirmation page to the meeting. Often the confirmation has not been received properly by the Community and that is the best way to make sure everyone is accommodated.
• The Lone Star Community is hosting the Region 5 conference in 2005 and is looking for volunteers.
• Watch for your STC renewal notice in your email. The STC is encouraging online renewal if at all possible.
• The December meeting will be Thursday, December 9, at DFW Airport Marriott and is our Holiday Party. There will be dinner and dancing!

Elisa Weaves a Web

Elisa Miller presented an informative, interactive presentation on "Writing for the Web." The presentation began with a discussion of how people read web pages. Most people scan new pages rather than reading a page word-by-word. If the information required is not found quickly, readers move on to another page. We, as consumers, are constantly receiving many messages from TV, radio, billboards, newspapers, and the Web. Various elements on the Web are competing for our attention, and our best defense is to ignore the messages. Therefore, readers move quickly from page to page in order to ignore as much of this as possible.

When writing for a web site, there are many things to keep in mind:

It is important to know your audience. Take into account aspects including comfort in navigating the Web, English-proficiency, and tone.

Increase credibility by referencing other organizations, and by being referenced by them.

Be sure your site is free from grammatical errors and is written well for the audience.

As a site is written, stress high-level details in the first screen, getting more specific as the reader gets deeper in the site.

• Keep the layout of the site scannable. Bullets may be more appealing to the reader.
• Verbs should be active rather than passive. In the active voice the speaker is obvious to the reader, as opposed to passive voice in which the voice focuses on the action.
• Avoid jargon and dialect. They can be confusing, especially to new readers.

Elisa took us down a different path than many speakers as she involved the entire chapter using an interactive format. In addition to providing feedback and responses to questions during her presentation, we were also given an opportunity to take informal tests based upon many of the writing principles she shared.

All in all it was a great presentation and a great opportunity to socialize and learn with a diverse group of technical communicators. Our next meeting is Thursday, December 9, at DFW Airport Marriott and is our Holiday Party. There will be dinner and dancing!